1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spring stretcher for use in stretching furniture springs.
2. Description of Prior Art
Items of furniture, such as sofa and lounge chairs, include as a support a zig zag spring which is commonly referred to as a "no sag" spring. These springs are pulled taut and fastened to the furniture frame prior to the padding and the upholstery being applied. Over a period of time, through use a spring may encounter an excess amount of wear and break. When this occurs, a repairman will generally have to remove the upholstery in order to replace the spring or will have to struggle with stretching and refastening the spring without removing the upholstery. A spring stretcher which could be applied to the spring that would stretch the spring substantially back to its original length without having to remove all if any of the upholstery would make the job of the furniture repairman a lot simpler and in turn possibly pass a savings on to the consumer.
There are many devices known for stretching springs. Most of these are used in the application of installing or removing the spring being stretched. However, no device provides a simple ratchet mechanism capable of being operated with relative ease in a restricted environment and having a quick release feature whereby the tension applied to stretch the spring would be relieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,951,953 issued Mar. 20, 1934 to John Tollonitsch discloses a ratchet device for expanding coil springs used in conjunction with the installation and removal of the spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,087 issued Jan. 29, 1957 to Alva V. Shanan discloses a device for stretching tension springs comprising a tubular barrel and a telescoping rod actuated by a hand crank for removing and installing conventional automobile hood springs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,742 issued Apr. 28, 1959 to Frank Prath discloses a spring stretcher comprising telescoping sections to facilitate the stretching of tension springs in preparation of spring installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,895 issued Jul. 24, 1973 to Marcur Martin discloses a spring extender comprising a pair of telescoping tubes used primarily to remove and install counterbalance springs.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.